Southwark Cathedral was filled with children from around the Diocese on Monday 22 May as they gathered together to give thanks and to hand over their schools’ offerings for the Bishop of Southwark’s Lent Call. Over £4,000 was handed in, nearly doubling the £4,500 already raised.

As part of the service of thanksgiving, groups of pupils from schools around the Diocese sang, danced, lead prayers and read from the Bible and handed over contributions they had collected. In his address, the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt Rev Tom Butler, talked about the part to play that schools had in raising money for his Lent appeal for projects both at home and abroad. He also spoke about the generosity of God’s gifts, following the theme of the children’s Bible reading: “for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

The Lent Call projects that will benefit from this year’s appeal are: Self Help Groups in Kyrgyzstan, the Kaunda Sports Ground, Gulu, Uganda and Boarding Hostels for Children in India, the Sisters of the Church building programme in the Solomon Islands, the 999 Club in Deptford and various projects in Southwark’s link Dioceses in Zimbabwe.

Monies raised for the Bishop’s Lent Call are still coming in and it is hoped that last year’s total of £18,500 will be exceeded.

Ends.